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anbar's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. Wow, this vivid depiction of a girl who gets targeted by a mean girl through no fault of her own really got a strong emotional response from me. Piddy switched schools when her mom moved them to a better apartment, but from her first week at her new school, a girl she doesn't even know is out to get her (and when you find out why, it's just infuriating). The stress of the resulting bullying campaign makes Piddy's grades suffer, which gets the adults on her back, which gets her more stressed--a good depiction of that vicious cycle. Piddy's too scared to risk making things worse by snitching, so she becomes increasingly isolated, especially since her best friend has also moved to a different neighborhood, and her other old friend is dealing with his own family troubles. There is also the sub-plot of Piddy's mother never telling her anything about her father (she knows his name and nothing else, not even a photo), and the identity angle of strangers sometimes counting Piddy out of the Latinx community despite both parents being Latina/Latino because she's light-skinned. I don't agree with all of Piddy's decisions (why not at least vent to Lila?), but they were understandable. I dock a half-star because I really wanted/needed one thing to be shouted in a certain person's face in the climax, but it never was (AAGH!).
rynnikins's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
amandareadsss's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse
dianarok's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book. It's definitely a coming of age story for teens, but I appreciated it (especially the part that includes modern technology and how it can effect bullying!). It was a very quick read, and I recommend it for light reading or wanting to know what's in the world of young adult fiction.
wingedcreature's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how I feel about Yaqui Delgado. I really liked Piddy, and she's such a great character. She has to deal with bullying- from a girl she doesn't even know, and it's hard for her to deal with it, to the point that she starts skipping school, and eventually has to change schools, because she has no other option. Well, she does, but for Piddy, it's her best option. I did like that her mom and her mom's best friend (Lila) were around a lot in the book, which is pretty rare in YA. Still, we don't see Piddy really hang out with anyone her own age- she spends a lot of time with Lila, and there is a guy for part of the book, but it seemed a little strange to me.
I couldn't quite connect with her fear of Yaqui, even after one really big moment with her. I think part of it is that Piddy and Yaqui didn't even know each other, and it's hard for me to understand how Yaqui could decide that Piddy was her target, no matter how hard I tried to understand it. I did get her anger with her mother, but I also understand why her mother kept things about her dad from her. Unfortunately, it's something I could relate to. I think I felt like I was told how Piddy felt, but I never completely FELT it, particularly where Yaqui was concerned.
The book definitely needed more where Yaqui was concerned, and I wish we had more of her story, because her wanting to kick Piddy's ass was random and out of nowhere. Even though the book is very much about the effect it has on Piddy, I think it focused a little too much on bullying, to the point that other things weren't as developed as they could have been.
My Rating: 3 stars. I did like the community that Piddy has, and I felt for her, because she had some things going on, but it wasn't completely there for me.
I couldn't quite connect with her fear of Yaqui, even after one really big moment with her. I think part of it is that Piddy and Yaqui didn't even know each other, and it's hard for me to understand how Yaqui could decide that Piddy was her target, no matter how hard I tried to understand it. I did get her anger with her mother, but I also understand why her mother kept things about her dad from her. Unfortunately, it's something I could relate to. I think I felt like I was told how Piddy felt, but I never completely FELT it, particularly where Yaqui was concerned.
The book definitely needed more where Yaqui was concerned, and I wish we had more of her story, because her wanting to kick Piddy's ass was random and out of nowhere. Even though the book is very much about the effect it has on Piddy, I think it focused a little too much on bullying, to the point that other things weren't as developed as they could have been.
My Rating: 3 stars. I did like the community that Piddy has, and I felt for her, because she had some things going on, but it wasn't completely there for me.
bookabecca's review against another edition
4.0
Such a powerful exploration of bullying from the POV of Piddy, a Latinx teen whose world and hope gets smaller and smaller as her bully looms larger. Medina writes a compelling narrative of what that feels like from the inside and how to claw one’s way out. In the end, it’s an ode to imperfect solutions, the transformative love of family, the relief of telling the truth to someone you trust, and overall resiliency.
andeaclark's review against another edition
3.0
I had a hard time with this book. It was very sad that someone who was bullied thought she had no allies, and it was hard as a reader to watch her life slip out of control. It was a good message about bullying though, and I think it could lead to some great discussions with high school students. There is even a happy ending.
lacytelles's review against another edition
4.0
I am a big fan of Meg Medina, and I wish I would have had her books when I was an actual young adult. This is a book about a teenage girl who moves to a new school (in NYC) and is promptly bullied. It is a book created to show teenagers the ramifications of bullying and to provide a gateway for discussion.
crowinator's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5 stars.
I can think of few novels that I'd want to read less than a contemporary novel about a Latina teen struggling to cope with being bullied at her new school (it doesn't help that the title is horrible), but this is one of those times when I'm glad for assigned reading. It's so rare that a book like this manages to be so straight-forward without getting didactic; so authentic about the claustrophobic, trapped feeling of being bullied without painting a hopeless picture or making me cry my eyes out with horror; and has such a realistic ending (I'm looking at you for those last two, Leverage). It would be an interesting to pair with Everybody Sees the Ants in a book discussion group, because even though they are quite different (this one has no magical dreams or Greek-chorus ants, for example), there are parallels in how the bullied students learn to speak out and how the bullying is dealt with by adults and on a school administration level. There really is no one-size-fits-all answer to bullying, but neither is bullying an unsolvable problem, and this novel balances both truths well.
I can think of few novels that I'd want to read less than a contemporary novel about a Latina teen struggling to cope with being bullied at her new school (it doesn't help that the title is horrible), but this is one of those times when I'm glad for assigned reading. It's so rare that a book like this manages to be so straight-forward without getting didactic; so authentic about the claustrophobic, trapped feeling of being bullied without painting a hopeless picture or making me cry my eyes out with horror; and has such a realistic ending (I'm looking at you for those last two, Leverage). It would be an interesting to pair with Everybody Sees the Ants in a book discussion group, because even though they are quite different (this one has no magical dreams or Greek-chorus ants, for example), there are parallels in how the bullied students learn to speak out and how the bullying is dealt with by adults and on a school administration level. There really is no one-size-fits-all answer to bullying, but neither is bullying an unsolvable problem, and this novel balances both truths well.
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
This book has a lot going for it. It was hard for me to evaluate analytically, however, because I kept personalizing the bullying struggle...how am I, as an educator, supposed to stop these insane types of escalating bullying? This is a frightening kind, and one I've seen in smaller doses- the person without a logical reason that is in the bullied person's control. (Not that there are many kinds of bullying that make sense.) Each time she upped her bullying game, I looked harder around me and wondered if I could be as clueless as the educators in the book. How do we make school safe for each kid? How do I protect the Piddies and fill up the Yaquis in ways that prevent them from turning against others?
I thought the portrayal of Yaqui was somewhat simplistic (wrong side of the tracks, dysfunctional and possibly completely absent family) but I was glad there wasn't a gushy 'let's all make up' moment. In reality, we don't get to see and heal the emotional baggage of our bullies, and I didn't want this book to turn into an after school special.
I thought the portrayal of Yaqui was somewhat simplistic (wrong side of the tracks, dysfunctional and possibly completely absent family) but I was glad there wasn't a gushy 'let's all make up' moment. In reality, we don't get to see and heal the emotional baggage of our bullies, and I didn't want this book to turn into an after school special.